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Comparison Of East-West Schism And The Byzantine Empire

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The Schism of 1054 (also known as the Great Schism, the East-West Schism and the 1000 Year Schism) was a defining moment in Christianity’s two thousand year history, dividing "Chalcedonian" Christianity into two separate Church bodies of which would become Western (Roman) Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Though there is a broad historical, theological and religious consensus that the official break of communion is dated to the year 1054 C.E., when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other, this was not the sole cause of the schism that would divide these denominations for some two centuries, but rather, to use the cliché, the ‘straw that broke the camel's back’.
ORIGINS
Since the foundation of Christendom, the Church …show more content…

Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great, who died in 395, was the last Emperor to rule over the united Roman Empire. Posthumously, the territory was halved into the Western Roman and Byzantine Empires, each governed by their own respective Emperor. By the end of the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire had been decimated by the barbarians, while the Byzantine Empire in comparison, thrived. As a result, the political disunity between the two formerly united Empires became an issue at the forefront of the brewing tension, especially as Church and State were often …show more content…

THE GREAT SCHISM
The Great Schism split the previously united Christian Faith along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographic lines, each claiming to be "the One Holy Catholic (universal) and Apostolic Church."

One of the main contributing factors to the division has its roots in the non-canonical insertion of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed by the Roman Church. The inclusion of the Filioque (Latin for "and [from] the Son") was, and still is not accepted by the Eastern Churches, due to its consideration as a direct violation of the Council of Ephesus.

Other disputes included:
⇨ the jurisdiction of the Western or Eastern Church in the Balkan States.
⇨ Disputes in regards to Papal Authority, primarily over the four remaining patriarchs and the extent of his authority.
⇨ Differing liturgical practices, which were condemned by the opposing Churches, such as the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist in the West and the Eastern practice of intinction (dipping) of the bread in the wine for Communion.
⇨ Differing views over date on which Easter should be celebrated in the

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